1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a folding/stitching apparatus for folding a plurality of superimposed (laminated) sheets and stitching the sheets in the folded position by staples.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows one of folding/stitching apparatus that has been proposed. As shown in FIG. 1, a folding/stitching apparatus 100 includes a plurality of paper feed trays 101 disposed in upper and lower directions, on each of which a plurality of superimposed sheets are placed, not-shown paper feed means for feeding the plurality of sheets set on the paper feed trays 101, sheet loading means 102 for conveying and setting the plurality of sheets fed by the paper feed means respectively in stapling and saddle-stitching positions, stapling means 103 for sticking staples (so-called stapling) into the plurality of sheets set in the stapling position by the sheet loading means 102, folding means 104 for folding the plurality of sheets set in the saddle-stitching position by the sheet loading means 102, sheet discharge means 105 for moving the plurality of sheets folded by the folding means 104 in a discharging direction, trimmer means 106 for trimming folded and saddle-stitched sheets P conveyed by the sheet discharge means 105 and a paper receiving tray 107, on which the folded and saddle-stitched sheets P discharged by the trimmer means 106 are placed.
In the above-described constitution, the plurality of sheets set on the paper feed trays 101 are conveyed to the sheet loading means 102 by the paper feed means, and the plurality of sheets are set in the stapling position by the sheet loading means 102. The stapling means 103 sticks staples into the plurality of sheets set in the stapling position, and thus the plurality of sheets are stapled in a desired stapling position to be stitched.
The plurality of sheets are set in a folding position by the sheet loading means 102. The folding means 104 folds the plurality of sheets set in the folding position, and thus the plurality of sheets are folded in the stapling position. The folded and saddle-stitched sheets P are conveyed by the sheet discharge means 105, and guided to the trimmer means 106. After trimming at the trimmer means 106, the sheets P are discharged to the paper receiving tray 107.
However, in the proposed folding/stitching apparatus 100, the stapling position for sticking staples into the sheets by the stapling means 103 and the folding position for folding the sheets by the folding means 104 must be aligned with each other. If positions of both are shifted from each other, sheets P well folded and saddle-stitched cannot be obtained. An alignment unit is necessary in order to obtain well-folded and saddle-stitched sheets P, which has resulted in complexity of a structure and other problems.
An object of the present invention is to provide a folding/stitching apparatus capable of accurately setting both a folding position and a stitching position. Another object of the present invention is to provide a folding/stitching apparatus having a simple structure.
The first aspect of the present invention provides a folding/stitching apparatus comprising: a sheet setting tray having an upper surface side where the slit is opened and sheets are set; a folding/stitching plate provided to be freely moved between a standby position for not entering the slit of the sheet setting tray and a folding/stitching position for entering the slit, the folding/stitching plate having a staple bending portion provided in an insertion tip into the slit; and a stapler pressed into contact through the sheets with the folding/stitching plate set in a folding/stitching position to stick staples into the sheets.
The second aspect of the present invention provides the folding/stitching apparatus according to the first aspect of this invention, further comprising: a handle to be manually operated, wherein the folding/stitching plate is moved between the standby position and the folding/stitching position in conjunction with an operation of the handle.
The third aspect of the present invention provides the folding/stitching apparatus according to the first aspect of this invention, still further comprising: a motor, wherein the folding/stitching plate is moved between the standby position and the folding/stitching position by a driving force of the motor.
The fourth aspect of the present invention provides the folding/stitching apparatus according to the first aspect of this invention, wherein a pair of introduction rollers is provided in the slit, and the folding/stitching plate is inserted integrally with the sheets between the pair of introduction rollers.
The fifth aspect of the present invention provides the folding/stitching apparatus according to the fourth aspect of this invention, wherein the pair of introduction rollers is freely moved in both a contact direction with each other and a separate direction from each other, and pressed in the contact direction by an urging means.
The sixth aspect of the present invention provides the folding/stitching apparatus according to the fourth aspect of this invention, wherein the folding/stitching plate is moved from the standby position to the folding/stitching position, and then the pair of introduction rollers is rotated in a direction for moving folded sheets integrally.
The seventh aspect of the present invention provides the folding/stitching apparatus according to the sixth aspect of this invention, wherein the folding/stitching plate advances from the standby position to the folding/stitching position, and then the pair of introduction rollers is rotated in conjunction with the operation of the handle.
The eighth aspect of the present invention provides the folding/stitching apparatus according to the sixth aspect of this invention, wherein the pair of introduction rollers is rotated by a driving force of the motor.
The ninth aspect of the present invention provides the folding/stitching apparatus according to the first aspect of this invention, yet further comprising: a sheet lead-out member, wherein the sheet lead-out member guides the folded and stitched sheets in a discharging direction when the folding/stitching plate is returned from the folding/stitching position to the standby position.
The tenth aspect of the present invention provides the folding/stitching apparatus according to the ninth aspect of this invention, wherein a pair of folding rollers is provided at a position to which the sheets are guided by the sheet lead-out member, and the sheets being inserted between the folding rollers are moved in a discharging direction by rotation of the pair of folding rollers.
The eleventh aspect of the present invention provides the folding/stitching apparatus according to the ninth aspect of this invention, wherein the folding/stitching plate is returned from the folding/stitching position to the standby position, and then the sheet lead-out member is moved in conjunction with operations of both the handle and the folding/stitching plate.
The twelfth aspect of the present invention provides the folding/stitching apparatus according to the tenth aspect of this invention, wherein the pair of folding rollers is rotated in conjunction with an operation of the handle.
The thirteenth aspect of the present invention provides the folding/stitching apparatus according to the tenth aspect of this invention, wherein the pair of folding rollers is rotated by the driving force of the motor.